SUMMARY:

Muslim AIDS Program (MAP) is a faith-based organization (FBO) working with families holistically through

its youth to promote abstinence-based norms and behavior within communities. The project is implemented

in close collaboration with either the provincial health departments the Department of Social Development in

each of the four target provinces. MAP is currently operating in the four of the nine provinces: Western

Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. The organization recruits and trains young adults to work

in the programs as peer group trainers and facilitators. The emphasis areas for this project are gender

through addressing male norms and behaviors, human capacity building and local organization capacity

building. The target population for this project are youth both in- and out-of-school, community and religious

leaders, and street youth.

BACKGROUND:

MAP life skills program is an initiative of the Islamic Careline, Jamiatul-Ulama and the Islamic Medical

Association. One of the key objectives is to assist children and youth to become responsible members of

the community. MAP has developed a series of life skills programs and continues to provide facilitation

training for the programs. MAP has been receiving PEPFAR funding through the CDC-National Department

of Health cooperative agreement since FY 2005. In FY 2007 MAP became a sub-partner of CARE

international and now receives funding through the CARE international/CDC cooperative agreement.

In FY 2008 MAP will expand services geographically in the provinces where it is operating. There will be an

expansion of accelerated prevention programs targeting youth, especially girls. These programs will include

discussions on promoting and strengthening primary and secondary abstinence; promoting post-exposure

prophylaxis (PEP) after sexual assault, discussion on gender issues, delayed sexual debut, encouraging

positive prevention for infected people and integrating reproductive health to HIV programs. These topics

shall also be taught to young women as they are the most vulnerable.

ACTIVITY 1: Abstinence and Being Faithful Program

MAP's abstinence and being faithful (AB) life skills program will target secular and religious schools and

educational institutions. The abstinence-based messages are designed to assist youth in- and out-of-school

aged 10 to 21, and to encourage them to delay sexual debut until marriage. The organization visits a school

for a six week period. During that time, bi-weekly two hour sessions are conducted with the same group.

Topics covered include delaying sexual onset, adoption of community norms that denounce cross-

generational sex, HIV and AIDS, and stigma and discrimination.

The organization also promote behavior change by endorsing social and community norms that support

refraining from sex outside marriage and partner reduction.

The "No Apologies" program will be implemented with youth from Grades 7-12, and with out-of-school

youth. The program is a character-based abstinence until marriage program. Topics covered include:

healthy relationships, media literacy, pre-marital sex has consequences, why abstinence works, and drugs

and alcohol as it relates to abstinence.

The "Free Teens" program is also abstinence-based and encourages young people to make informed

choices about their future through interactive discussion on pertinent topics. The program covers HIV and

AIDS, STI's and as well as a comprehensive pregnancy prevention program for unmarried people.

Gender equity is achieved by encouraging a consistent number of both male and female learners to attend

the program. Male/female norms and behaviors are widely discussed during school programs. Stereotypes

of male/ female dominance and subservience exist in families and there is a need for the youth to engage in

and interact with these issues.

ACTIVITY 2: Training and Peer Education in Schools

MAP will train young university students and available unemployed youth to render a service to the

organization. Trained youth attend workshops for both self development and as volunteer facilitators for the

organization. MAP conducts the ladies' life skills and parenting skills programs which promotes constructive

communication between youth and parents who are primary caregivers.

The Rutanang Peer Education concept will be implemented within the existing program with the training of

peer educators as well as the incorporation of various appropriate experiential exercises. Peer Educators

will be trained to effectively communicate the AB messages which include abstinence to the 10-14 years,

encourage them to delay sexual debut and secondary abstinence to those who have started sexual

activities and for the youth at-risk to reduce the number of sexual partners.

ACTIVITY 3: Creative Education

The organization incorporates entertainment in the form of role plays, drama, indigenous games, dancing

and singing to reinforce the AB and the life skills message. In the Orphan and Vulnerable Children program,

life skills are simplified to suit the needs of this special group of learners. Some of the topics that will be

added will include road safety, basic entrepreneurial skills, peer communication skills as well as arts and

culture. The program is translated into different languages for the benefit of the learners in some schools.

Evaluations of these programs have proven that the use of creative arts is well received by the learners and

this will therefore be expanded. The use of holiday camps as well as mother/daughter and father/son

projects are rapidly becoming a means of intervention whereby parent-child interaction is enhanced and

promoted.

ACTIVITY 4: Capacity Building

MAP provincial offices mentor eight community-based organizations (CBOs) in order to develop capacity in

AB programs and to strengthen peer education. Specific training for CBOs includes workshops on program

Activity Narrative: management, basic information on HIV and AIDS, and "NO Apologies" "Free Teen" and Rutanang Peer

Education. Interns and volunteers are recruited to facilitate the implementation of the program in informal

settlements and previously disadvantaged communities. The volunteers are capacitated with additional

training opportunities to improve skills for effective service delivery.

These activities will contribute to the PEPFAR 2-7-10 goals by promoting knowledge and skills to prevent

HIV infection in youth population that may have an increased risk to HIV exposure.